A Weekend Adventure
by Sickboy123
Summary: Two students had planned a weekend vacation but find themselves accidentally thrown into Equestria. Now they must learn to trust each other and their new friends if they are to have any hope of returning home.
1. The Journey Begins

It was a bright sunny Friday afternoon in April, and the campus buzzed with activity. Students were out in the court yards playing Frisbee and volleyball, others were out jogging or walking dogs. Unfortunately for Jean and Max, they were stuck in a calculus class, being lectured by their less-than-interesting professor about liner equations. Jean could barely keep his eyes open as their teacher droned on. He glanced at the clock, their lecture was only halfway over.

"So boring…" he thought

He desperately wanted to be outside to enjoy the warm weather. He suddenly felt his phone go off. It was a text message from Max which read:

"yo im bored as hell… wanna ditch this class?"

He looked across the classroom and saw his friend looking back at him with a pleading expression across his face. Jean nodded then sent a text back which read:

"OHGODYES. You first"

Upon receiving his text, a sly grin came across Max's face. He waited until the professor was facing the chalkboard, then slipped out the door, unseen. Jean waited a minute to avoid drawing attention, then slipped out in a similar manner. Jean wasn't the type to cut class, but the weather was too nice to spend inside. The two of them exited the lecture hall into the warm spring air outside. Jean took a deep breath and said

"It is so good to be out of there! Dr. Sutton sure likes to hear himself talk"

"For real, I doubt anyone in that class was even paying attention" Max said, stretching .

"It should be a crime to hold class on Friday when the weather is so nice" Jean said and cracked his back.

"Well said" His friend replied

"So, now what?" Jean asked

"Let's go drop our stuff off at the dorm, then lets hit the dining hall" Max suggested

"Good deal"

The two of them began the walk across campus to their dorm buildings, Jean stopped at a vending machine and bought an energy drink and stashed it in his backpack. Max shook his head and said: "those high-caffeine drinks will kill you some day, ya know?"

"whatever you say, health-nut" Jean mocked.

They neared a park "Lets take the scenic route back" Jean said pointing to a small section of woods

"Why not?" Max said

The two continued their walk, enjoying the warm spring air. Max rubbed his chin as a thought occurred, "You and me need to go on a road trip this weekend, like an adventure."

"yeah!" Jean agreed. "Where did you have in mind?" He asked.

"I don't know yet, but we really need to get off this boring campus." Max declared.

As the two pondered on where to go, a strange shape off the path caught Max's eye. He stopped and looked at the peculiar object, Jean noticed it to. The object, was a blue sphere of light, hovering three feet off the ground and made crackling noises of electricity.

"Whoa… Call up God, we should report this error" Max joked.

"Don't be a smartass, I think we just found something big…. Like a new scientific discovery or something" Jean said taking in the marvel.

Jean began taking pictures with his phone "One for Popular Science magazine" He said and turned his phone sideways for another shot "One for National Geographic". As Jean snapped pictures, Max walked closer, Jean looked up.

"What are you doing?! We don't know what that thing is, keep away from it!" Jean barked at his friend who was getting closer to the strange, unearthly object.

"Relax man, where's your sense of adventure?" Max teased, and got even closer to the floating ball of light.

"Sense of adventure? Where's your sense of self-preservation?!" Jean advised, then pointed at the orb of light. "that thing is probably giving you a huge dose of radiation!"

Max fearlessly walked right up the globe of energy, then outstretched his arm as if he was about to touch it.

"Max, if you see an anomaly in physics, you shouldn't touch it!" Jean warned

"Would you calm down! This thing looks harmless!" Max said, annoyed with his friend's warnings, then reached out and touched the ball of light. Max froze, petrified by an unseen, bizarre force of energy. Max's body then began to emit a blue light, similar the orb. Jean stared at his friend , dumbfounded.

"Max?... Max are you Ok?" Jean asked nervously, Max didn't respond. Jean cautiously advanced toward Max and the orb of light.

"Max! Answer me!" he said, then grabbed his friend by the shoulder in attempts to get him to snap out of it. When Jean placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, he unknowingly formed an inter-dimensional circuit between himself, Max, and the orb. An arc of lightning shot out of the orb which leapt onto Max then onto Jean, there was a glare of white light, brighter than the sun and a loud rumble as each of them were sucked into the orb. For a brief moment in time, Jean felt weightless, as if he was floating through the air. The next thing he knew, he was being violently thrown onto the hard ground. His ears were ringing, the only thing he could hear was his rapidly beating heart and labored breathing. His vision was also very blurred, he could barely make out a figure standing in front of him. As the ringing in his ear began to subside, he could hear the figure talking.

"Are you ok?" the figure asked, it sounded like a woman.

"I think so, what just happened? My ears are ringing like crazy and I can't see anything" Jean told the figure.

"I'll explain that shortly. You're hearing and vision should return to normal soon; cross-dimensional travel takes its toll on the body, you're friend seems to have taken the worst of it though." She said.

Jean could hear Max groaning as he too came to his senses.

"You ok Max?" Jean said but Max didn't answer.

"When your vision returns, I need you to promise me something." The figure asked

"Ok" Jean said, somewhat woosey

"I need you to promise me you will remain calm, ok? Do you promise?"

"I guess so" he replied

"Good! Try to stand up" She requested

Jean tried to stand but was too dizzy and fell back down.

"Here let me help you" she said and Jean felt a veil of invisible energy pick him up and gently set him down on his feet.

Jean's vision was slowly retuning, he soon realized that he was no longer outside, but inside a large room with pillars and a tiled white marble floor. The figure was becoming clearer, but Jean could only recognize a tall white figure.

Max groaned and said "What happened? My head is pounding!"

Jean's vision had almost fully returned, he struggled to focus on the figure, when finally he could see it clearly. It was a horse, taller than he was, had a multi-colored mane and had long horn on it's head. Jean was confused, he looked around the room and said "where are you?"

"I'm right in front of you" the horse said

"what the hell…." Jean said, him brain failing to compute the talking animal

"My name is Princess Celestia, and I'd like to welcome to Equestria. Before we continue I'd like to say that none on this was intentional, you and your friend were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time…" The horse said, but Jean wasn't listening.

He ran over to Max who was still on the ground and yelled in his ear "get up!" then he shook Max by the collar "GET UP!" Max struggled to get to his feet. "What's wrong?" Max said rubbing his eyes.

Jean pointed to Celestia "that! Do you see that?!" he exclaimed.

"the horse?" Max said, still confused.

"Yes, the horse! It just spoke to me!" Jean explained

"It did what?" Max said

"I swear it can talk" Jean said

"I would appreciate it if you didn't speak about me as if I weren't here." Princess Celestia said, irritated by the humans' unruly behavior.

"See?! It CAN talk!" Jean said ecstatically

"Oh my god… " Max muttered.

"Would you two please be quite? I can explain what happ-" Celestia said, but was unable to finish her sentence as the two humans bolted out the door.

Jean ran out of the room first with Max close behind. Jean wasn't looking where he was going and ran into yet a another horse. This one was a colt, it also had a horn on its head, not quite as tall as Celestia, had a blue mane, and was being followed by two other colts, each outfitted with brass armor.

"Hey watch where you're going!" The colt said.

Jean didn't respond but simply turned and ran in the opposite direction down a long hallway with Max after him.

"Shining Armor, would you please bring those two creatures back here" Celestia said to the colt

"Yes your majesty!" He said obediently "You two: with me!" He said to the two colts following him

"Yes sir!" they barked

Jean and Max blindly ran down corridors lined with stained glass windows, searching for an escape. A set of closed doors at the end of a hallway looked promising. The two bust through the doors, expecting to be greeted by the outside. However, they actually burst in on a fancy dinner party. All of the party guests were ponies and horses, they were all dressed in formal wear and were all staring at the two humans in shock.

"Sorry, wrong room" Max said and then the two slammed the doors back shut. Before either of them could think of another plan, they heard a booming voice from down the hallway.

"Hold it!" It was Shining Armor, the colt from before.

With the colt cutting off their only escape, Max had to think fast. He saw one of the stained glass windows was slightly opened. He violently pushed it fully open and looked down, it was a ten foot drop.

"We gotta jump!" He said, Jean looked at him doubtfully.

"Are you crazy? That fall will break bones!" Jean exclaimed

"Not if you land correctly" Max said and leapt out the window. Jean saw his friend hit the ground, then He saw Max stand up, perfectly fine.

Jean hesitated to jump, Shining Armor was getting closer.

"Don't you jump, just come with me and everything will be fine" the colt said

"says the talking horse" Jean said under his breath

"Just jump you wuss!" Max yelled up at his friend

Jean sucked in his fears and jumped, he hit the ground feet first and avoided taking any damage, but his heavy backpack caused him to lose balance and he fell back down on his bottom.

"See? I told you we could jump it." Max said, triumphantly.

Jean looked back up at the window and saw Shining Armor looking back down at them.

"You just have to do it the hard way huh?" Shining Armor said scornfully.

"Let's get moving, he'll be down here soon" Jean said

"Agreed" Max replied

The two looked around for an escape, they soon realized the building they had just jumped out of was actually a castle, they were now in some sort of a walled in courtyard. The wall surrounding the courtyard was about eight feet high.

"I have an idea" Jean said and ran to the nearest section of wall "Come here and give me a boost"

Max soon got the idea, he got up close to the wall, got down on one knee and cupped his hands together. Jean put his foot in Max's hands and Max lifted Jean to the top of the wall. Jean climbed to the top of the wall and in turn, hoisted his friend up. Shining Armor rushed into the courtyard just in time to see the two humans jump over the wall. He let out a frustrated sigh and continued his purist. Meanwhile, the two humans were formulating their next move. Jean saw a mail cart being pulled by two, fast moving work horses.

"There's our ride!" Jean called, and the two ran for it. Max caught up to the cart first and hopped in the back unnoticed. Jean was next, he hurdled into the back of the cart making a loud thumping noise. One of the work horses turned around, but the two humans hid behind a couple of mail bags. Shining Armor came running out of the courtyard gates, out of breath. He saw to two humans sitting in the back of the cart which was rapidly pulling away. As the cart disappeared into the distance, Jean gave Shining Armor a mocking salute. The colt was to tired too catch up and let them slip away. He walked back to Princess Celestia's chamber in defeat.

"Your Majesty…" He said, Celestia looked up from a letter she was reading.

"Yes? Do you have them?" She said expectantly

"No… they got away. They jumped onboard a mail delivery cart, I think it was bound for Ponyville" He admitted, embarrassed

"Very well" Celestia said

"Shall I dispatch a search team to Ponyville?" He asked

"No need. This will present Twilight with a perfect opportunity to showcase her skills" Celestia explained.


	2. Chase

Jean and Max had ridden in the back of the mail cart for about an hour undetected when the cart came to a stop. Max looked up and around their surroundings, they were at the outskirts of a village.

"this is good a place as any to get off" He whispered to Jean

The two hopped off and snuck into a ditch on the side of the road. From their they crept into rows of apple trees where finally they could rest after their ordeal. Max sat down on a log but Jean remained standing.

"You and me need to talk…" Jean said with crossed arms

"About what?" Max inquired

"I told you not to touch that glowing orb of light, and now look where we are!" Jean exclaimed

"Sorry man I had no idea-" Max said but Jean wouldn't let him finish

"Use your brain next time and don't touch something if you don't know what it is!" Jean's face was red with anger.

"OK! I get it! You were right, but arguing won't help us here! We need to remain cool and think of a plan" Max said trying to calm his friend

"What did you have in mind?"

Meanwhile in the village, a certain purple unicorn was hard at work studying her notes in her library when her dragon assistant came through the door with a rolled up paper.

"Hey Twilight! I have a letter from the princess for you!" The young dragon chimed

Twilight looked up "Very good! Thank you Spike" She said dismissing her assistant

Her horn lit up and using her powers of levitation, she unrolled the paper.

"My dearest Twilight," She read aloud. "I have a task of the utmost importance for you, earlier today two foreign creatures entered Equestria. These creatures are called 'humans'. It is suspected they are currently near Ponyville. I need you to find them and bring them to me. They don't seem dangerous, but remain cautious when approaching them. They are very effective when working in pairs, they even used teamwork to evade castle security and even outsmart your brother. They can be described as vastly intelligent creatures and are able to communicate with ponies. In terms of appearance, they walk upright on only two legs and have a set of arms similar to a monkey's. I advise you to gather your friends and use them to help you. Lastly I need you to bring them in unharmed, try to avoid using excessive force. I look forward to your success,

Princess Celestia"

Twilight realized the severity of the letter and immediately left to gather her friends.

Meanwhile, Jean and Max remained hidden in the rows of apple trees. They were busy racking their brains for a plan but were coming up blank. Max was sitting somewhat relaxed against a tree while Jean continuously paced back and forth. Max looked at his friend and said;

"would you please sit down and try to chill? You're making me nervous…"

Jean stopped for a minute and stared at Max then said "Good, you should be nervous. In case you haven't noticed, we're in a world of talking animals."

Max was surprised by Jean's sudden snappish attitude, back on Earth Jean was much more docile.

"Listen, I want to go home too, we need to work together to make that happen." Max said

As the two talked of possible plans, they didn't seem to notice they were being watched. In a nearby patch of bushes, three small fillies observed the humans.

"What in the hay are those things?" A young filly with a red mane and bow whispered to her friends

"Quite Applebloom, they'll hear us!" A small Pegasus sharply whispered.

Both Max and Jean simultaneously turned their heads towards the bushes the fillies were hiding in.

"Did you hear that?" asked Jean

"Yeah I think I heard voices , we best get moving." Max answered

The two humans quietly moved deeper into the rows of apple trees, the three fillies kept watching. When the humans were out of earshot, a small unicorn turned to the Pegasus and said;

"Nice going Scootaloo, you scared them off!"

Scootaloo snorted and said "Oh please it was Applebloom making all the noise!"

"Girls! Quit arguing! Come on, let's go get my sister, she'll know what those things are" Applebloom said, and with that they left.

At the village square, Twilight waited for her friends. When three ponies arrived she explained their task.

"I'm glad you all could make it" She said. "Princess Celestia has given us an assignment of great importance. We need to find two so-called 'humans' who are on the loose."

"Quick question" a Pegasus with a rainbow colored mane said

"Yes Rainbow Dash?" Twilight said

"What's a 'human'?" Rainbow Dash asked

"I was just getting to that, humans are apparently very smart, highly evolved, two-legged creatures, never before seen in Equestria… until now. Earlier today, humans appeared in near Canterlot and Princess Celestia has asked that we find them and bring them to her." Twilight explained.

"Never before seen creatures?" A yellow Pegasus chimed "I can't wait to meet them!"

Twilight turned to the yellow one "That's why you're here Fluttershy, we'll need you're animal expertise if we want to bring them in without problems"

Fluttershy smiled, anticipating the meeting of a new animal friend.

"And if there is a problem?" An orange Earth pony with a southern accent asked

"That's why _you're_ here Applejack, you and Dash are the fastest ponies in all of Ponyville. I'm confident we can talk them into coming with us, but If not we'll need you get them for us. Any questions?" Twilight then announced

"I got one." AJ said "That's all fine and dandy, but where do we start looking?"

"Well…" Twilight scratched her head.

At that moment, the fillies from before came flying down the street in a wagon being pulled by scooter which was driven by Scootaloo. After nearly crashing into Applejack, all three fillies spilled out.

"Applejack! You need to come with us, quick!" Applebloom shrilled.

"Is it an emergency?" Applejack asked

"Well… not really" Applebloom admitted

"Sorry little sis, but I have some grown-up matters that need tending to. I'll come see whatever it is later." Applejack told her younger sister

"But sis! There's some weird lookin' critters in the apple orchard!" the young one said desperately

That caught the attention of all four mares, specifically Twilight, who rushed over to Applebloom.

"What did they look like?" She asked

"There was two of em', they walked around on two legs and were really tall…" Applebloom described

That was all Twilight needed to hear, all four took off for Sweet Apple Acres.

"Remember what I said: We talk to them first, I'm sure Fluttershy can talk them into coming with us."

"And if they don't we MAKE them come with us, hehe" Dash said cynically

"Cool it Rainbow, the Princess wants us to bring them in UNHARMED." Twilight reminded

"Yeah whatever…" Dash said unenthused

When they reached the apple farm, Twilight looked over the countless acres of apple trees and sighed.

"Great… Where do we begin?" Twilight said

"I got an idea, I'll fly over the orchard and try to spot them from the air!" Rainbow announced

"Ok, but if you see them, immediately come get us, DO NOT go after them yourself" Twilight instructed, but Dash had already taken off into the air and began circling the orchard.

Dash had made four passes over the orchard when she spotted them in a clearance in-between the rows. "There you are!" She said to herself. Dash observed them from the air for a short while longer, then thought "If I bring these two in, I'll be a hero!" She then slowly descended

The two humans where still discussing a plan.

"Maybe we should talk to them" Jean suggested

"After they abducted us and chased us out of that castle? I don't think so" Max said stubbornly

"I couldn't hurt, we don't even know where we are" Jean reminded

"That might be true but-" Max's sentence was cut short as Dash landed in front of them

There was a moment of silence as both parties took in each other.

"Oh great… they have wings now" Max said pessimistically, breaking the silence

"You two, come with me, NOW" Dash demanded

"Should we run?" Jean whispered

"No, I'm tired of running." Max said and made a stance towards Dash.

"If you don't back off, me and my boy here are gonna have something to say about it!" Max bellowed

Dash took a step back; at six feet and two inches tall, Max had an intimidating stature. Jean closely rivaled Max's height at five feet and eleven inches. The two humans towered over Dash who started to feel like she had bitten off more than she could chew.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Jean whispered to Max

"Trust me" Max said confidently

Jean then took a stance alongside Max

"You should run…" Jean said to Dash

Dash took the humans warnings as a challenge and stepped closer.

"Oh yeah, or what?" She said self-assured.

"You're about to find out" Max said

"Bring it!" Dash declared and took off in a charge at the humans.

Max also took off and then leapt at Dash, tackling her and forcing her to the ground.

"Don't just stand there, help me!" Max called to his friend.

Jean joined in but with the help of her athlete strength, Dash was able to throw them off.

"Damn, this thing is strong!" Max said

Jean looked at Dash and noticed a small expression of panic on her face. "You can still run!" Jean yelled to Dash who, in turn sneered and put her head down for another charge.

This time both humans simultaneously slammed into Dash, and after a brief scuffle Dash was pinned by the humans.

"Quick! Toss me your jacket!" Max called to Jean.

Jean threw him his jacket. Max in turn warped it around Dash, and zipped it up. The jacket was like straightjacket, restricting the use of her forelegs and wings. Without the use of them, Dash flopped around like a fish-out-of-water. Jean then got an idea, he tied the sleeves of the jacket together restricting Dash's movement even more.

"Ha! That's what you get for messing with a human!" Max said victoriously

Jean crouched down and looked at the pony, who's face was quickly becoming red with anger.

"Dude, look at those eyes, this thing is furious!" Jean chuckled

Dash snapped her jaws at Jean, in attempts to bite him.

"Someone should put a muzzle on you" He said and got back up

Max looked over at Jean and said; "job well done!"

"Yeah, but I fear we might have just pissed them off even more" Jean said

"That's for sure! Just wait until my friends find me! You two freaks will get it!" Dash said, looking up at them.

"Yeah your voice carries…" Jean said mockingly

"That brawl really took it out of me, I'm starving!" Max said, Jean pointed up to the fresh apples on the trees.

"Don't even think about it! Those apples belong to Applejack!" Dash snarled

"Well, Applejack won't mind if we borrow a few, will she?" Max said sarcastically

Before Dash had time to answer, Max shoved an apple in her mouth so she couldn't respond.

"Didn't think so…"

After eating their fill, the two humans left, leaving only apple cores and a tied-up Rainbow Dash behind.


	3. Confrontation

With the two humans gone, Rainbow Dash lay in the orchards for almost an hour, still restrained by Jean's Jacket. She was infuriated and embarrassed by her defeat, and she wasn't looking forward to the ridicule Twilight was surely going to give her for letting the two humans get away. She was also expecting Applejack to give her a tease for getting tied up. She struggled to get free but the fabric of the jacket was too strong. The boredom of the wait was filially brought to an end when she heard a familiar voice;

"Rainbow? What happened ?" It was Twilight

Rainbow tried to answer but the apple was still stuffed in her mouth.

"Applejack! Fluttershy! Over here!" Twilight called

Upon seeing Dash bound by the jacket and gagged by the apple, Applejack let out a hearty laugh

"What in tarnation did those things do to ya?! Hahaha!" Applejack was nearly on the ground laughing

Twilight used her telekinesis to pull the apple from Dash's mouth. Dash took a deep breath and said;

"Those… Those freaks! Those two legged weirdoes! When I get my hoofs on them…" Dash said, her face now crimson

"What's happened?" Twilight asked

Dash quickly thought of an excuse "They um… Snuck up on me! yeah! They snuck up on me and tied me up!"

Twilight frowned "I find that hard to believe since you were in the air the whole time. Did you go after them yourself?"

Realizing she was caught, Dash's head dropped "Yes…"

"Rainbow! I told you to come get us if you saw them!" Twilight scolded

"I know! I know! I just thought I could take them myself" Dash said

"On the bright side, we now know what these here humans are capable of" Applejack intervened

"We also know that they probably won't want to come with us willingly…" Twilight said, still angry at Rainbow

"Yeah, yeah I get it…" Rainbow said, then looked up at Twilight "can you get this thing off me?" Dash said referring to Jean's jacket.

Twilight used her magic to untie the sleeves and pull the jacket off Rainbow, who in turn immediately stood up and stretched her wings.

"What is this?" Twilight said, examining the jacket.

"Its some kind of human clothing" Dash explained

"Hmmm, if it's clothing, Rarity might want to look at this" Twilight thought

"Which way did they go?" Twilight asked Dash

"That way" Dash said and pointed to a trail of apple cores left by Jean and Max

Upon seeing the apple cores, AJ stomped her hoofs "Those little apple stealin' varmints!"

"Oh yeah, they helped themselves to the apples" Dash said

"Come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover" Twilight reminded

"Hold on" Applejack said, "My dog Winona can track them"

"Good thinking!" Twilight said aloud

Applejack left and returned a short while later with her dog, who in turn sniffed Jean's Jacket and began leading the four deeper into the orchard.

Meanwhile, the two humans wandered aimlessly through the trees.

"I'm just gonna go on record and say it: I think what we did to that pony was a mistake, we should have just ran." Jean said

"We gave it a fair warning" Max replied

"Yeah, but sooner or later we might run into it again, and by that time it will probably have brought friends to back itself up." Jean theorized

"Well until that time comes…" Max said

"Still, the problem remains; we don't know where we are or have a plan"

"Relax man" Max said "I got us into this mess so I'll get us out, I promise"

"Well you let me know when you think of a strategy, I still think we should try talking to them" Jean said and leaned against a tree

"You still want to talk to them? Even after they send that rainbow pony with wings after us?" Max said skeptically

"yes"

Jean's head perked up when he heard something

"Quite!" He whispered sharply

There was movement in the bushes. The two humans tensed. A mid-sized dog came out of the brush and the two relaxed

"Here girl!" Jean said and got down on one knee

Winona fearlessly walked over to Jean and allowed him to pet her.

"Good puppy" He said

"Where'd you come from?" Max playfully said to the dog

There was a voice in the distance "Winona! Here girl!" The voice called, it sounded like a southern accent.

The dog barked and went running toward the voice.

"sounds like company, lets get to cover." Max suggested

The two humans climbed an apple tree and hid amongst the leaves. Looking down, the two humans saw four ponies come out of the brush, Rainbow Dash among them.

"It's that rainbow-bastard…" Max whispered

"Looks like the trail ends here" Applejack said to Twilight

"Have Winona sniff the human's coat again"

The dog smelled the jacket, but immediately looked up at Applejack and whimpered.

"Nope, nothin'. I think the humans are somewhere close by" AJ concluded

Back in the tree Jean nudged Max. "Did you see that? They're using that dog to track us down!"

"All right, fan out and find them. Rainbow, you stay with me, we don't need another incident." Twilight said

Dash grumbled but reluctantly agreed.

Fluttershy got right to work. "Come on out, we won't hurt you" She said in her most soothing voice

As the ponies searched, none of them seemed to notice Winona. The dog was barking at a tree, the very same tree the humans were hiding in.

"That dog is gonna give us away!" Jean whispered

"Time to move!" Max said

"and how do you propose we do that?" Jean said cynically

"The same way we ditched that boring calculus class." Max winked

The two waited for the right moment, when all four ponies had their backs turned the two humans silently dropped down. They ignored the braking dog as they crept away. When they were on the very verge of safety, Rainbow Dash spotted them.

"There they are! Don't let them get away!" She thundered

The humans didn't even look, they instantly broke out into a dead run. Twilight wanted to smack Rainbow upside the head.

"Rainbow! You scared them away! Again!" Twilight growled

"Sorry…" Dash said, embarrassed

They bolted through the trees, they stopped for a quick breather when it was safe.

"Those things are persistent!" Max declared

"We should split up, that dog can track my scent. You find a place to hide and I'll lead them on a chase, then I'll give them the slip. We'll meet up on the other side of the orchard." Jean said panting

"Ok good plan" Max said

Jean nodded and turned to leave.

"Jean!" Max called

Jean looked "Yeah?"

"Be careful man, and good luck" Max said

"You too dude!" Jean said and took off

Jean kept a brisk pace as he walked away. He needed to get as far away from Max as he could to throw the four ponies off. He reached a wide open field which separated one patch of trees from another. Jean chose to go straight through it instead of walking around. When he was directly in the center of the field, he noticed three of the four ponies on the other side. Immediately he crouched down, there was no cover to hide behind. He turned around to creep away, but found himself face to face with a very angry Rainbow Dash.

"Gotcha!" She said with a devilish smile

Jean thought he could outrun Dash; he was wrong. When Jean got up and ran he was instantly tackled by Rainbow. She pinned him

"Guys! Over here!" She called to her friends who came to aid her. Jean threw an elbow back and hit Dash under the chin. The impact caught her off guard, Jean then pushed her off and scrambled to his feet.

"GET OFF" He snarled

Dash rubbed her chin as a wry smile came across her face.

"Where's your little friend? Not so tough now" She said about to charge

Just then Twilight, AJ and Fluttershy arrived at the scene.

"Stop!" Twilight called "There's no need for more nonsense!"

"Shit…" Jean said under his breath

"I got him!" Dash said proudly

"Not the way I asked you but close enough" Twilight said

Jean put his hands up. "Ok ya got me. You obviously went through a lot of trouble to catch me so what do you want?"

"Amazing! It can talk just like a pony!" Twilight exclaimed

"Did you just call me 'it'?" Jean said slightly annoyed

"Sorry… Look you need to come with us" Twilight said

Jean was defiant "And why should I do that?"

Twilight opened her mouth to answer but Dash was faster. Rainbow flew up to head level on Jean, looked him in the eye and said;

"Listen here pretty-boy, you can come with us the easy way or the hard way"

"get outta my face" Jean snorted

"Rainbow! Enough!" Twilight said. Dash backed off

"Your presence has been requested" Twilight told the human.

"Requested? By who?" Jean asked

"Our Princess"

"Your Princess? Tell her I decline the offer" Jean said, dismissing the idea

"This isn't an option" Twilight said

Jean gave her a look of skepticism. "So far today I've been abducted, chased through a castle, attacked twice by ol' rainbow-pony over here, and now you want me to come with you on my own free will…. Max was right, I shouldn't even talk to you"

Twilight sighed. "Look I know you've been through a lot, but my princess has given me specific orders to take you to her. Will you please come with us?"

"….No"

Fluttershy then approached Jean "I can't imagine what you've been through, but I promise if you come with us, everything will be alright" She said in her most calming tone.

Jean wasn't sure why but for some reason he felt as if he could trust this pony. He thought for a minute, then said "Ok, I'll go with you on one condition"

"Ok what is it?" Twilight said, excited the human was finally cooperating.

"You ditch her and her" Jean said pointing to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "Then I'll go with you"

"Um… Ok, you guys heard the human, take-off" Twilight announced, unsure if it was the right idea

"Alrighty then! See ya Twi!" Applejack said

"If the human gives you any problems, you know who to call" Rainbow said ominously

When they were gone, Twilight turned to Jean "Sorry about Rainbow, Lets go"

"Lead the way"


	4. A meeting with Celestia

It was a long walk to the castle where Celestia awaited the human. Jean remained calm but cautious and also remained quiet. Meanwhile, Twilight was wondering how she was to catch the other human who was on the loose.

"What's your name?" Fluttershy asked. Had any other pony asked, Jean wouldn't have answered but for Fluttershy he decided to open up.

"My friends call me Jean" He said

"My name is Fluttershy, and I'm very happy to meet you" She said kindly

"Heh, I wish more humans were half as friendly as you are" Jean joked

"Are many humans unfriendly?" Twilight asked

"You'd be surprised" The human said

Twilight began to think about the social interactions of humans. As they walked, Jean noticed in the corner of his eye, a multi-colored flash in the clouds. He stopped walking and focused on where he thought he saw the flash. Twilight turned around;

"Jean? Are you coming?"

"Yeah… Thought I saw something" He said looking at the sky

As soon as he looked away the multi-hued flash appeared again, it darted to another cloud. Jean stopped;

"There it is again!" He said pointing to the sky

"What did it look like?" Twilight asked

"It was like a rainbow of colors, moving from cloud to cloud" Jean described

Twilight instantly knew what it was "Rainbow Dash! I know you're up there! Come down!"

Dash descended and landed beside Twilight.

"Sup?" She asked

"Were you following us? Didn't I ask you to leave?" Twilight asked

"Just making sure the human behaves himself." Rainbow said innocently

"The only one of us who's misbehaving, is you." Jean said pointing to Dash

"I am not!" Dash said defensively

"No, he's right. The deal was: He'd come with us if you left, you're still here…" Twilight explained

"Yeah well…." Dash said, failing to come up with an excuse

"Can you get her to leave?" Jean said to Twilight, loud enough for Dash to hear

"Just a minute" Twilight sighed

"What's your deal anyway" Rainbow Dash snorted

"My 'deal' is _you_." Jean said and crossed his arms

"Come on guys, let's not start this again…" Twilight intervened, but neither Jean nor Rainbow Dash paid any attention

"You look like somepony took a big hairy ape and shaved it!" Dash poked with a wry smile

"Oh yeah? You look like the freakish cross between a mule and a chicken" Jean said devilishly

"What did you just call me?!" Rainbow exploded

"Ya deaf AND stupid?" Jean had a toothy smile on his face

"You better take that back!" Rainbow snarled

"Can we please calm down?" Twilight said as tempers flared

"Why should I take it back? You started it" Jean said smugly

"Take it back or I'll… I'll..." Dash said trying to think of a clever threat

"You'll what? Last time we clashed, I tied you up, remember?" Jean could tell he was beginning to win

Dash was about to tackle Jean when Twilight got in-between them

"ENOUGH!" Twilight declared, she pointed to Jean;

"You! Keep your mouth shut!"

Rainbow was about to laugh when Twilight pointed to her;

"and you! Leave the human alone!"

"But-" Dash protested

"No buts!" Twilight had a look of exasperation

There was a long moment of silence, then Dash said "I'll uh… catch you guy's later" and with that she flew back into the clouds

"I better not catch you following us!" Twilight called after her

"Damn…" Jean said, referring to Twilight's meltdown

"She can get a bit touchy" Fluttershy whispered

"You don't say" Jean sarcastically replied

Their journey had taken roughly four hours to complete when they began to approach their destination. Jean's feet were sore and he felt exhausted. They neared the castle where Celestia awaited, he hadn't gotten a good look at the castle when he first arrived and was just now beginning to realize how big the castle actually was. Two enormous doors opened as they approached, Shining Armor came strutting out with two guards behind him.

"Twily! You were able to catch one of the humans! Great job little sis" He said with a smile

"No problem big brother" She winked

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… This is your big brother?" Jean said in disbelief

"Yeah" Twilight said

Jean began to laugh "That's rich! The big bad solider-boy over here couldn't catch me" he pointed to Shining Armor "but his little sister can? Ha!"

Shining Armor had an expression of sheer un-amusement on his face. The guards behind him began to laugh when he turned around and glared at them, they immediately shut up.

"The princess is expecting you, don't make her wait" Shining Armor said to Jean

"Gotcha" Jean said and walked in, Twilight and Fluttershy stayed behind

"It was a pleasure meeting you, but we must be going" Fluttershy said

"Ok, see you around" Jean called back

The two huge doors closed behind him, Shining Armor nodded his head, implying Jean should follow him. The colt escorted the human to Celestia's chambers. The door was plated in gold with jewels encrusted throughout the work. The two guards opened the gold doors;

"Go ahead in" Shining Armor said

Jean stepped into the great chamber, Celestia was sitting on her throne waiting.

"Thank you Shining Armor, that will be all" She said

"As you wish" He said

Shining Armor closed the door on his way out. Celestia got off her throne and approached Jean.

"You gave them quite the chase" She said

"Yeah well… if they were gonna take me alive I wanted it to be worth their while" Jean said looking at the door

"I hope you're not planning on running away again, I have four guards waiting outside…." She said suspiciously

"Chill, I'm too damn tired to run" Jean huffed

"Well then lets get down to business, I bet you are wondering how you got here" She said

"Yep"

"I was observing your world with an inter-dimensional surveillance spell. The so called 'orb of light' you saw back in your world was my point of view. You and your friend stumbled across the point and when he touched it, he linked himself with my world. As soon as you touched his shoulder, you formed a circuit which transported you here." She explained

"Hmm, a spell? Like magic?" Jean asked

"Exactly" Celestia said

"…ok, after everything I've seen today, magic doesn't seem too far-fetched" Jean said to himself "Where am I anyway?"

"This world is called Equestria"

"Equestria?" Jean repeated

"Yes, you're home world, Earth, is currently in another dimension" Celestia said flatly

Jean was quiet for a minute, then said; "How do I get back?"

"I'm…not sure. It's strange a surveillance spell world transport you to here in the first place."Celestia admitted "However, I'm very certain I can find a way to get you home."

"Why should I believe you? Why should I believe anything you say for that matter?" Jean said

"You'll just have to trust me"

"Trust you? Do you know what I've been through today?"

"Yes, I heard you and Ms. Rainbow Dash had a bit of a scuffle" Celestia sighed

"That's right, so pardon me if I'm a little hesitant to trust you…"

"Mistakes were made, on both sides mind you" Celestia reminded him

"Mostly _her_ side" Jean snorted

"Watch your attitude…" Celestia said firmly

Jean shook his head "The only thing stopping me from walking out of here is the four guards outside"

At this point Celestia was fed up with Jean's passive aggressiveness, she opened her massive wings and hovered above the human, she took a deep breath and bellowed;

"JEAN PARKER! YOUR SPESIE'S ARROGANCE IS ONLY MATCHED BY IT'S INABILITY TO ACCEPT AID!" Her voice thundered through the entire castle "I AM NOT TRYING TO DO YOU HARM" Celesita closed her wings and calmed down "I'm trying to help you" Her voice was back to normal with a hit of compassion.

Jean stood still in shock, the volume of Celestia's voice was comparable to a jet-engine.

"Where did that come from…" Jean said stunned by the utter volume of her voice.

"My apologies, that was the traditional Canterlot Speaking voice" Celestia seemed slightly worn out from the yelling. "As I was saying; I can help you get home but you'll have to trust me"

"Ok…. I trust you" Jean reluctantly said after a moment of silence

"Glad to hear it" Celestia said, relived

"By the way, how did you know my last name was Parker?" Jean asked

"You dropped this when you first arrived" Celestia said, using her magic to levitate Jean's student ID over to him, Jean stared blankly at her display of magic.

"It's been a long time since I've read your language" Celestia said

"You can read English?" Jean inquired

"Of course I can" Celestia proudly said

"How? Doesn't your kind have its own language?"

"Ponies do have their own language… However, a long time ago humans and ponies lived together. I learned to read English when humans and ponies lived side by side" Celestia confessed

"How long ago was that?" Jean asked

Celestia scratched her head "A couple millon years ago"

"What happened? Why aren't there any talking ponies on Earth now?" Jean was now very curious on his home world's history

"I'll tell you later. Currently we have more urgent matters at hand which I require your help with." Celestia noted

"Alright, what do you need me to do?" Jean asked

"I need you to help Twilight find your friend" Celestia said

"I can do that" The human said

"Good. I've made living arrangements in Ponyville so you'll have a place to stay while you're here." Celestia explained

"Ok great, should I head back now?" Jean asked

"Yes, Shining Armor will escort you back into town" Celestia said


	5. An Inter-Dimensional Sleep Over

_Authors note: I'm going on vacation and won't be posting for two weeks. So as a going away present, here's an extra-long chapter. _

Shining Armor led Jean back out of the castle and brought him to a chariot drawn by two Pegasus colts.

"Hop in, I'll take you back to Ponyville" He said

The colt and human stepped into the golden cart and the two Pegasus immediately began to run. They ran so fast Jean had to hold on tight to avoid falling off. The two Pegasus in front opened their wings and the chariot became airborne.

"Holy crap! This thing can fly!" Jean said referring to the chariot.

He leaned over the side and looked down, they were rapidly gaining altitude.

"This is awesome!"

Shining Armor gave Jean an amused expression, "Haven't you ever flown before?"

Jean turned around "I've flown in airplanes before but is wasn't anything like this!"

Jean remained glued to the side of the chariot for the majority of the flight when finally he turned around and faced Shining Armor.

"So, any idea where I'm staying?" He asked

"Celestia asked me to not tell, you'll find out soon enough" Shining Armor said, he seemed to be hiding information but Jean shrugged it off

A half hour later they landed back in Ponyville, Jean was disappointed the flight had ended. He hopped out of the cart.

"Follow me" Shining Armor said.

The colt led Jean though town, the sun was setting and the streets were nearly empty. Shining Armor led the human to a large tree which looked like it had been converted into a house, complete with large glass windows and a balcony. Shining Armor knocked on the door,

"This is where you'll be staying" Shining Armor said with a smirk

"Ok, I can dig this" Jean said looking in awe at the massive tree house.

Twilight answered the door "Hey big Brother!" She said cheerfully "What brings you to Ponyville?"

"Celestia's orders; I have a guest for you to acomadate" He explained

Jean walked up behind him, upon seeing Twilight he said;

"I'm staying with her? Why?"

"I'll let you two sort things out" Shining Armor said before retreating back to the chariot

"Hey! Why does the human have to stay with me?!" Twilight called after her brother but he was already back at the cart.

"Look I'm not thrilled about this arrangement ether, but your princess and all her wisdom decided to place me with you, so like it or not we're stuck with each other" Jean said and walked inside.

"I just wish I would have been told about this beforehand" Twilight said, irritated.

Just then Spike came running downstairs with a scroll of paper. "Hey Twilight, I have a letter from the princess for you!"

Spike stopped and looked at Jean "You must be one of the humans on the loose! I'm Spike!"

"Name's Jean" The human said

Twilight used her telekinesis to grab the scroll and open it. She read it allowed;

"Dear Twilight, as part of your task, I'm asking you to accommodate the human known as Jean. He will help you locate the other human tomorrow.

The best of luck

Princess Celestia"

"Well, there you have it" Jean said and took off his heavy backpack, it hit the floor with a loud thump.

"What's in the bag?" Twilight said pointing to the backpack

"Books" Jean said unzipping the pack and dumping the contents onto the floor.

Twilight immediately took interest in the other-worldly books. Most of them were text books of various subjects as well as several note books. Twilight used her magic to flip open a large calculus book.

"The words are in a different language, but I can recognize these equations." She looked up from the text book. "Are you a scholar?" She inquired

"I'm a student" Jean said

"Interesting! Humans have an education system. Would you mind if I looked through these books?" Twilight said with pleading eyes

"Have at it" Jean said and walked over to the couch to lie down.

Twilight poured through the books for almost an hour, Jean soon got bored and began to walk about the Library. When Twilight decided to call it quits, she ascended up the stairs to the balcony. Even with an inter-dimensional guest, she still needed to keep up with her studies, tonight was astrology and constellations. The night was clear and the moon and stars were completely visible. She stepped onto the balcony, to her surprise, Jean was there leaning against the railing and looking at the sky. He glanced over at her and then back at the stars.

"The sky is the same" He said looking up

"What?" Twilight said

"The stars and constellations, they are in the same place back on my world" Jean said

"Really? How do you know?" Twilight was intrigued

Jean pointed to the Big Dipper in the sky "There's the Big Dipper" He pointed to another patch of stars "There's Orion" he pointed to another collection of stars "and there's Scorpio"

"Wow…" Twilight said thoroughly impressed

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow" the human said

"About finding your friend?" She asked

"Yes, I think if I could talk to him, he'd be more willing to cooperate" Jean explained

Twilight thought "Hmmmm… Thanks for the offer but I think I can handle it"

"You sure? Remember what happened to Dash? That was his idea, I'd hate to have it happen again." Jean warned

"Dash won't be a problem, I had a word with her. I have this completely under control. " Twilight said

"If you insist, but don't expect him to go down easy; he's one of the most stubborn people I know." Jean said as he walked back inside

Jean found a comfortable spot on the couch, unlaced his converse and removed his IPod from his pocket. When he tried to listen to music he found that his mp3 refused to turn on.

"I could of sworn this thing was fully charged" He thought

Without his music, Jean put his feet up on the side of the couch and drifted off the sleep. The next morning Jean woke up but he kept his eyes tightly shut.

"When I open my eyes, I'll be back in my dorm room and this whole thing will be just a bad dream." He said to himself.

Slowly he opened his eyes, but instead of seeing his dorm, he saw a round pink face and a big blue pair of eyes a few inches away from his face.

"Gah!" He said jumping off the couch

It was a pink mare, with a pink fluffy mane and a shiny smile.

"Hi! I'm Pinky Pie! Twilight told me there was a newcomer in town and I just had to meet you!" She said in rapid succession.

Jean rubbed his eyes and said "could you have waited till I woke up?"

"Sorry, Twilight invited me over to discuss how we are going to track down your friend, and I saw you're here so I decided to say hi!" She said energetically

"cool…" Jean said, still half asleep

At that moment, Twilight walked in on them.

"Oh good, I see you've met Pinky Pie. When you're ready, come into the next room. We'll need your help."

Jean sleepily gave her a thumbs up. Twilight cocked her head sideways,

"What does that mean?" She asked, referring to the thumbs up.

"It's a human sign, it means 'ok' " Jean explained

Twilight nodded and went to the other room, Pinky Pie followed her. Jean put his shoes on and checked his phone. Even though it was useless here it was, still was still a habit of Jean's to check his phone after he woke up. He soon discovered his phone also wouldn't turn on.

"I know this thing had a full battery…." Jean thought

He left his phone behind and reached into his back pack. He remembered he had purchased an energy drink back on earth and was needing an extra boost. He cracked the can open and walked into the next room. Twilight, AJ, Fluttershy, Pinky Pie, Rainbow Dash, and a white unicorn mare Jean hadn't met where all sitting around a table. Upon seeing Jean, Dash frowned

"Why is he here?!" She blurted out

"We normally say 'good morning' where I come from" Jean said and sipped his drink, he leaned against the door frame.

"For those of you who don't know, this is Jean, one of the humans. He'll be assisting us." Twilight announced

The white mare approached Jean.

"My name is Rarity, a pleasure to meet you" She said, her accent reminded Jean of an English accent.

"Likewise, you strike me as someone with class" Jean said with a small smile

"But of course!" Rarity exclaimed

"If we are done introducing ourselves, let us begin" Twilight interjected. She turned to Jean,

"Alright, what can you tell us about your friend?" She asked

"Well…" Jean thought "I'd describe him as a 'good-ol'-boy' from the country. He is stubborn, somewhat close minded, he's very athletic and is probably wondering what happened to me" Jean described

"Is he dangerous?" Twilight asked

"He isn't as dangerous now since I'm not there to back him up, but if he's cornered he might get a little edgy" Jean said

"Ok, anything else we should know about him?" Twilight said

"Yes, the reason Max and I split up and you found me, was because I was leading you away. I knew that dog could smell me and I wanted to divert you from finding Max. He could be anywhere in the apple orchard now" Jean admitted

"Thanks for the info, anything else?" Twilight said, writing the human's words down

"I still think I should talk to him" Jean reminded

"Why? So you can draw your plans against us?" Dash snarled at Jean

"You're not part of this conversation" Jean said to Dash

"Thanks for the offer but I want to try to find him myself" Twilight declined "Ok, everyone get ready, we'll be heading out soon" She announced

"How do you plan to catch him?" Jean asked

"We'll rain him out" Dash chuckled

"What?" Jean asked

"I'll make it rain, snow and hail on the apple orchard until he gives up" Dash said with a smirk

"There isn't a cloud in the sky, unless you can control the weather, I doubt that's goanna happen" Jean said

"I'm a Pegasus, all Pegasus can manipulate weather" Rainbow said proudly

"I'll believe it when I see it" the human said doubtingly

"Step outside…" Dash said

Jean walked out the door, Rainbow strutted out too and flew off, returning a short while later pushing a grey storm cloud.

"How are you pushing that? A cloud is made of water vapor, that is physically impossible" Jean said confused

Rainbow didn't answer, she simply pushed the cloud over the human and gave it a good kick, instantly the cloud let out a clap of thunder and began to pour rain on Jean. Soaked, he stepped out from under the cloud.

"The laws of physics must be different here…" He muttered

He walked back inside

"So… where are we going to start?" Jean asked, wringing the water out of his shirt

"Actually Jean, I don't think we need your help anymore, you already told me everything I need to know so you can just stay here. Pinky Pie and Rarity will stay behind to keep you company. " Twilight said

"A little rain isn't going to deter Max, when you can't catch him, I'll be waiting here" Jean said

"I have this, trust me" Twilight said

"Whatever you say…" Jean said skeptically

Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow departed for the orchard, leaving Jean with Pinky and Rarity.

"What would you like to do today? We can take you around town and show you the sites" Rarity offered

"First I'd like to wake up…" Jean said and plopped himself back down on the couch. He took a large swig of the energy drink.

"What's that?" Pinky said, nodding to the energy drink.

Jean looked at the aluminum can "Sweet nectar of the gods. Also known as caffeine"

He sat there slowly swirling the can around when a thought occurred; "If my Ipod and phone don't work…"

Suddenly he got up and walked over to his back pack, a concerned expression on his face. He kneeled down and unzipped a large pocket and pulled a laptop computer out. He hit the power button, hoping the laptop would come to life. To his displeasure, the laptop remained dead. He examined the laptop, a strange odor was coming from the exhaust fan port. He took a sniff, it smelt like burnt plastic. He then realized the circuits were fried, the inter-dimensional travel had destroyed all his electronics.

"As if things couldn't get any worse…." He growled

"is everything all right?" Pinky said, concerned.

"Well…" Jean said standing up "My very-expensive gaming laptop is now a very-expensive paper weight"

Pinky wasn't sure what a "gaming laptop" was, but she knew an unhappy face when she saw one.

"Aww cheer up, I'm sure you can get a new one" She reminded

"Yeah, a new one costs about 1500 bucks" He said under his breath

He drank half the energy drink and set the can down, he looked up at the celling and sighed. "What the hell am I gonna tell my parents…" He said

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked

"The princess said she isn't sure when I'll be able to go home. If I'm here too long, they'll probably think I've gone missing." Jean said

"Tell them what happened, I'm sure they'll understand." Pinky said, trying to cheer the human up

"You think they'll believe I was sucked into another dimension, ruled by ponies?" Jean said with a raised eyebrow

"Sure! With magic, anything is possible!" Rarity chimed

"That's just it… there is no magic in my home world." Jean said

The two ponies looked at the human in shock, "No magic? Then how does the sun rise and set?" Rarity said in disbelief

"The sun on my home world rises and sets on its own, without magic….Anyway, they'll probably be worried sick." Jean said

"Maybe sometime outside will help calm your nerves" Rarity suggested

"Ok" The human said standing up.

Meanwhile at the orchard, Rainbow was busy moving storm clouds into position. The entire orchard was covered by the massive collection of grey clouds overhead. When Twilight gave the order, Dash kicked the huge cloud and raid began to pour, slowly at first, then it gradually increased to a downpour.

"Now what?" Rainbow asked, satisfied with her work.

"Now, we wait until the human gives up" Twilight said

"I'm not sure, this is a very good method" Fluttershy said

"Don't you be getting soft on me!" Rainbow poked

"Now Fluttershy, it's just a little rain. I'm sure the human will be fine" Twilight said

"But…" Fluttershy protested

"You heard Twilight, he'll be fine!"

As Jean stepped outside the library, he noticed the large storm cloud in the distance, hanging over Sweet Apple Acers. There was a flash of lightning and roll of thunder, Jean sighed;

"Its gonna be a long day"


	6. Reunion

Dash made several passes around the orchard, waiting for Max to show himself. Her waiting was futile as the stubborn human remained hidden in the rows of trees. She soon found herself bored and flew to the top of the cloud. She jumped on top of it, increasing the amount of rain falling. Twilight also patiently waited for the human to show himself to no avail on the ground. She was convinced this was the most effective method, and wanted to prove to the Princess that she could capture Max without Jean's help. Meanwhile, Jean walked with Rarity and Pinky around town. Jean kept noticing more and more ponies staring at him. He understood why they stared; they had never seen anything like him before. A small crowd gathered behind him, watching his every move. Jean soon caught on and quickly thought of a prank. When the crowd wasn't expecting it, he whipped around and yelled "BOO!" at the top of his lungs. The entire crowd jumped back in fright but relaxed when they saw the human chuckling to himself.

"You guys flinch so easy!"

A few ponies in the crowd let out an uneasy laugh. Jean wasn't sure why, but he kind of enjoyed all the attention he was receiving. He felt almost like a celebrity.

"So where do you want to go?" Rarity asked

"I want to go back to the orchard to check on Max…" Jean said

"Oh Jean, Twilight said she could handle it, give her a little faith!" Pinky insisted

"I trust Twilight, it's that Dash I'm worried about" He explained

"What do you think is going to happen?" Rarity asked

Jean thought for a minute "Let's just say Max has an… abrasive personality and is slow to embrace new ideas. I suspect another incident could happen."

"What do you mean _another _incident?" Pinky questioned

"You didn't hear? Back in the orchard Dash flew down and started barking orders at us…" Jean described

"That doesn't sound so bad" Pinky said

"Max and I had to tie her up to get away" The human said

Pinky and Rarity looked at each other, then began to laugh. The crowd of ponies behind them over heard and also bust of in laugher. The crowd soon disbursed as ponies went off to tell others what had happened between the humans and Dash.

"Rainbow won't live long enough to hear the end of this" Rarity said, wiping a laugh induced tear from her eye

"Poor Dashie… She's gonna feel all embarrassed" Pinky said sympathetically

"Wait… you call her 'Dashie?' that's hilarious!" Jean said, a sly grin on his face. He now had a new nickname for Rainbow.

"So can we return to the orchard?" Jean asked

"If you insist" Rarity said

At the same time Max was huddled under the cover of an apple tree, from the rain. He was wet, tired and hungry and was worried about his friend who had recently gone missing. Max also felt incredibly guilty for not only trapping himself, but also trapping his friend on a hostile alien world. He could see his breath, the temperature was slowly dropping. Rainbow Dash was the cause for this rapid decrease in temperature. Using her Pegasus capabilities, she pushed a snow cloud over the orchard in attempts to flush Max from the trees. A slushy mix of rain and snow covered the trees as a layer of mud formed on the ground.

"Any time now…" Dash said to twilight

"Maybe Jean was right about this human" Applejack said "This is getting kinda ridiculous"

"Just give it a little more time" Twilight said

"Humans sure are hearty critters" Aj remarked

Little did they know, Max had no intension of leaving the apple orchard. He had told Jean he would wait for him there.

"Where is he? Maybe he got captured…" Max kept running different scenarios through his head.

Meanwhile Jean, Rarity and Pinky Pie met with Twilight who was surprised to see them.

"Wait here" Jean said to his two companions and walked over to Twilight

"How's the search coming? Any luck?" He said

"The search is going along fine. I thought I told you I could handle it…" Twilight said

"I know. I'm just here to make sure good ol' Dashie doesn't try any funny business" Jean said and leaned against a tree

"Ok, but don't interfere. I need to do this on my own." Twilight said

"Why can't you accept my help? What are you trying to prove?" The human asked with suspicion

"I want the princess to know that I can do this with little to no help" Twilight cheerfully replied

Jean sighed and walked over at Pinky Pie and Rarity. He looked at the massive collection of storm clouds. "So much trouble over one single person…" He thought, then sat down on a hay bail.

"I feel so useless…" He said

"Don't be so hard on yourself" Pinky said

"It's hard not too… I'm stuck on an alien world, my best friend has gone missing and there isn't a damn thing I can do about either" He said, then stretched out and put his hands behind his head. "The only thing to do is sit back and watch the chaos unfold"

At that moment, Dash was flying overhead and saw Jean watching the show. Immediately she flew down to heckle Jean.

"Why are you here?" She demanded

"Oh hey Dashie! I didn't see you up there!" Jean said sarcastically

The word 'Dashie' immediately got her attention "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

"Opps! Am I not allowed to call you that?" Jean said with a false smile

"No pony except Pinky can call me that!" Rainbow snarled

"Call you what? Dashie?" Jean was enjoying himself, Rarity had also begun to giggle.

"You better watch your mouth!" Rainbow said ominously

"Ok, ok, you're right." Jean said in feigned obedience

"That's more like it…" The Pegasus said

"I suppose it was rude of me to call you… DASHIE!" Jean said, then burst into laughter, Rarity and Pinky joined him. Rainbow's face was turning a shade of pink

"Why you two-legged little-" Dash growled

"Rainbow! Play nice with the human!" Twilight said, overhearing the argument

"Oh Dash, you know we're just kidding, right Jean?" Rarity said

"Sure" Jean said, his mischievous smile still present

Rainbow sneered and with a cloud of dust and feathers she was back in the air searching for Max.

"Heh heh, that was fun…" Jean said

"Maybe you were a little hard on her. She seemed a little embarrassed" Pinky said

Jean rubbed the back of his head "I think your right… she did set herself up for it though. I'll have a word with her."

Almost four hours had passed, the rain and snow over the orchard continued at a steady pace. Applejack looked at her overly saturated trees

"Twi, if you keep this rain up, you're gonna drown all the trees…" She warned

"Alright. Rainbow! Cut the weather!" Twilight called to Dash, who in turn kicked the cloud again and the weather stopped

Twilight, AJ, Dash and Fluttershy all regrouped, Jean, Rarity and Pinky watched from the side lines.

"What's the plan?" Rainbow asked

Twilight rubbed her head "I don't know, I thought for sure this would work. Hmmmm…"

Jean saw an opportunity "Twilight, may I make a suggestion?"

"Ok lets hear it…" Twilight said, giving in

"I just need one chance to speak with him and I can almost guarantee his cooperation" Jean said

"Oh ok, we'll follow you" She said

"No, just me. If he sees all of you he'll never come out" Jean said

"how do we know you won't just run off?" Dash said suspiciously

"Would you give it a rest? You'll just have to trust me on this" The human said "What do you say?" He looked at Twilight

Twilight thought for a minute "… Fluttershy, go with Jean." She turned to Jean "You have ONE chance, don't make me regret this"

"You have my word." Jean said and displayed a shiny smile

"Fluttershy, with me." He said to the yellow Pegasus

With that he ventured into the orchard. The ground was muddy and wet. He looked down at his already soaked shoes, "I just had to wear converse today…"

"Max! Come on out! It's Jean!" He called with no answer

"He must be on the other side, come on"

The human and Pegasus carefully moved through the trees, looking for any signs of human activity.

"What's Max like?" Fluttershy asked

"He… He's an arrogant bastard. But that's why I enjoy him so much, he keeps things real." Jean said, then he noticed something on the ground, a human footprint.

"He's nearby" Jean said with a grin

"YO MAX! GET YOUR UGLY ASS OUT HERE" Jean yelled into the distance

"Jean?! Is that you?" A voice called back

"Who else could it be?!" Jean yelled over

Max came out of the brush, a huge smile came over his face

"Jean!" He said and came running toward his friend

Max looked weary and was streaked with mud and dirt "Damn dude you look like hell… It's good to see you in one piece though" Jean said

"Yeah it started raining then it snowed all of a sudden. Can you believe that?" Max said

"Yeah about that…" Jean remarked

At that moment, Max saw Fluttershy standing behind Jean

"What the hell are you doing with that… thing? They're dangerous, remember? " He said pointing to the Pegasus

"Max this is Fluttershy. She is anything but dangerous." Jean said introducing the two

"Hello there little guy" She said with a kind smile

"You need to come with me Max. There is much we need to discuss"


	7. An Important Lesson

Max was exhausted, he had spent the night outside and received very little sleep that night.

"Let's get you cleaned up" Jean said and tossed his jacket to Max to wear, as all of his clothes were wet.

"Thanks" he said draping the coat over his shoulders

"How was your night outside?" Jean asked

"Cold and wet… Where did you sleep?"

"A nice cozy library"

"What happened? Why didn't you meet up with me?" Max asked

"They um… Caught me" Jean said

"They caught you? Are you sure we can trust them?" He said

"Relax, they're all harmless. Except for that Rainbow one." Jean explained

"Heh heh heh, Doesn't she like humans?" Max said recalling the incident between the humans and Rainbow

"Listen up, we're approaching the edge of the orchard now. We're going to go meet our hosts, be on your best behavior" Jean warned

"Hosts? You mean those talking animals?" Max said

"That is exactly what I'm talking about, be more polite. We'll be staying at Twilight's library"

"Twilight? You gave it a name?" Max said

"_Her_ not _it_. And I didn't give her the name, she already had it." Jean said

The three cleared the brush, Twilight's ears perked up when she saw Max.

"See? I told you I could get him" Jean remarked

"I have to hand it to you, you were right. It would have been better if I could had done this myself" Twilight grumbled

Max looked over his new "hosts". Applejack gave him warm smile

"Howdy partner! You sure are a tricky critter!" She joked

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max said, unintentionally offended

Aj was confused, "I didn't mean nothing by it…"

"That's his way of saying; 'nice to meet you too' " Jean said

Aj raised an eyebrow then turned away.

Max's little outburst discouraged Rarity and Pinky from introducing themselves.

"He seems like a bit of a rough one…" Rarity whispered

"He's probably just scared after what happened with him and Rainbow, not to mention the fiasco at the castle. Let's just give him a little time" Pinky said sympathetically

"What did I just tell you? Lay some trust on me, they're complete and totally harmless" Jean whispered, fed up with Max's attitude

"Except her" Jean said and pointed with his thumb to Dash, who in turn sneered

"Stay away from her?" Max said

"For now at least"

"Ok…" Jean said directing Max's attention to the six mares "You've already met Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. This is Rarity, Pinky Pie, and Twilight" He said introducing them

"Charmed" Rarity said

"Hiya!" Pinky chirped

Twilight approached Max, "You must be Max, our princess wants to speak with you."

"And what makes you think I want to speak with her?" Max said defiantly

Before Twilight could answer, Jean intervened; "Because the princess is currently your only hope of going home. If I were you, I'd do what the nice unicorn says and go talk to the princess…"

"Ok ok. I'll play your game." Max said, Jean rolled his eyes

"Look here pal, I'm not too keen on our situation either, but an attitude isn't helping." Jean explained

"Lets get going, the princess is waiting" Twilight said

Jean was up and ready to go but Max was reluctant to move.

"Who is this princess?" He whispered

"Her name is Celestia, remember the big white one from the castle? That's her."

"So she's the one who gives the orders here?"

"Yep, it's probably a not good idea to make her angry" Jean advised

"How did we get here anyway?" Max continued

"Celestia will fill you in on that" Jean said

"What are you two whispering about?" Dash said hovering above them

Max opened his mouth to say a snide remark, but Jean stopped him.

"Let me handle this…"

"Don't make me say it" Jean said with a wry grin

"You wouldn't dare…" Dash growled

"Say what?" Max said

"There's a word which Rainbow over here HATES being called" Jean explained

"Don't say it!" Dash warned

"I'm gonna say it!" Jean said, his smirk growing

"I'm warning you!"

Jean took a deep breath "YOUR NAME IS DASH-MMMPH!" Rainbow clasped her hoof over Jean's mouth to prevent Max from hearing the word "Dashie"

"I swear, I'll tie you up and hang up upside-down from a tree branch if you say it!"

"Say what? What don't you like being called?" Max said, now intrigued

"None of your business!" Rainbow snapped

Jean pulled Dash's hoof off his mouth "Her name is-!" Jean said , Dash struggled to silence the human. The Pegasus looked up to see the rest of the ponies staring at the tussle between Dash and Jean.

"Rainbow, let him go…" the librarian said

"He started it!" Dash accused

"Bullshit!" Jean said dusting himself off

Just then, couple of strong looking bulls pulling a wagonload of anvils passed by and gave Jean a dirty look, Jean smiled uneasily.

"You're the one who was pointing fingers" Max said

"I have no idea what either of you just said… what does 'pointing fingers' mean? For that matter, what's a finger?" Twilight asked

Jean held up his hand and moved his fingers "These are fingers, pointing fingers means making accusations."

"Interesting…" Twilight said jotting down a few notes on human phrases "Listen up; behave all of you. How many times do I have to say it? I either of you start anything else, you'll spend the rest of the day locked inside the library" Twilight said as if she was talking to children

"Yes mother" Jean said

"Watch your tone"

In Ponyville, the two humans were at the center of it all. Heads turned and ponies took double takes at the two legged strangers. Jean didn't seem to mind but Max was visibly cringed.

"Would you chill? They're not gonna bite" Jean said

"How can you be so trusting of them?" Max said under his breath

"I think if they were going to try something, they would have done so already" Jean said

"What if they're going to eat us?" Max theorized

"I'm pretty sure they're all vegetarians… You worry too much, try to think of them as people."

"Except these 'people' have four legs and practice witchcraft…"

"_Magic_ not witchcraft. There is a difference" Jean explained

"And that difference is?" Max snorted

"Witchcraft requires human sacrifice." Jean joked

His joke didn't help Max's fears.

The humans weren't the only center of attention, ponies were also whispering and giggling as Rainbow walked by. She was used to attention and ponies looking up to her, but this was a different kind of attention. She grew wary as three cocky Pegasus colts descended from a nearby cloudbank.

"Hey Rainbow-Crash! We heard something about you!" A brown colt said

"Oh really?" She said with suspicion

"Yeah, we heard the unstoppable Dash just met her match!" Another said

"What exactly did you hear?" She knew they talking about her and the humans

"You got beat-up on by the humans!" Another Pegasus colt said

Upon hearing this, Dash bit her lip. She was known to be undefeated, and know her reputation was about to catch up to her.

"That's not true!" She said defensively

"Oh yeah? Well the humans are right here, why don't we ask them…" The brown colt said flying over to Jean and Max

"Yo humans, is it true that you guys tied Rainbow up?"

Max immediately wanted to explain to them in full detail the events between Dash and them, but Jean stepped between Max and the colt. Jean saw Dash looking at them with pleading eyes, he knew if they told the colts what happened, Dash would be subjected to untold amounts of humiliation.

"Well what happened?" The colt began to grow impatient

"Nothing… Nothing happened between us and Dash. All those rumors you've heard, they're all false, only a real dumbass would believe them" Jean said, lying through his teeth

"Oh…?" The brown colt said in disbelief "Nothing happened?"

"Nope"

"Oh…ok" He said in disappointment "We'll catch you later, Rainbow-Crash!" He said and all three colts ascended back into the clouds.

Rainbow was shocked, she was certain the humans would spill her secret, but for some reason they stayed quiet.

"Why didn't you tell them? That would have been hilarious!" Max whispered

"It wouldn't have been hilarious for Dash, would it?" Jean said

"So? She deserved it!" Max countered

"We're going to be staying here awhile, I think we should at least try to get on their good side. Rainbow probably didn't appreciate all the name call I did before we picked you up " Jean explained, Max sighed

"We're here" Twilight said

Max looked up to see Twilights massive tree house/library.

"This is where we'll be staying. Pretty sweet eh?" Jean nudged

A smile crept its way across Max's face "This is… This is amazing"

"Spike? I need to send a message" Twilight called

The reptilian came down the stairs, he stopped to look at Max, who was even taller than Jean.

"Oh good! You found the other one" he said to Twilight

"Actually Spike, that credit goes to Jean" Twilight said

"It takes one to know one! Nice going Jean" Spike said, with that Twilight began to relay her message to the dragon.

The other ponies chatted up one another, the two humans sat down on the couch. Jean picked up his half-full energy drink from that morning and took a sip.

"Can I please have a sip?" Max said eagerly, Jean handed him the can.

"Didn't you say high-caffeine drinks would kill me one of these days?" Jean said and cracked a smile

"Shut up" Max jokingly said

Jean then felt a hoof tap on his shoulder, he looked up to see it was Dash.

"Can um… Can I have a word with you?" She said timidly

"yeah…" Jean said standing up them turned to Max "That's my last one, don't drink it all while I'm gone"

Dash led Jean to the next room where no one or no pony could hear them.

"Why did you stand up for me like that?" She asked

"Would you have rather me told them what happened?" Jean said with a raised eyebrow

"No… just why? After everything I've done to you. Telling them you beat me would have been the perfect revenge" She said

"True and part of me really wanted to spill my guts and ruin that perfect reputation of yours. But that just ain't me…" He said

Dash looked at him funny

"Look, I actually wanted to you too. I think we got off on the wrong foot… or hoof whichever you prefer. What I'm trying to say is; I think we need to start over"

"Really? You mean after the orchard all the mistrust and accusations?" She said confused

"Unless you don't want to…" Jean said about to leave

"Wait" Dash said "We should start over…" She was embarrassed to admit it

"Ok then…" Jean said and outstretched his hand "My name is Jean"

"Rainbow Dash" The speedster said proudly

Jean was going to shake her hand when it occurred to him she had no hand to shake. Instead he put his hand into a fist and bro-fisted/hoofed Dash.

"So we cool now?" She asked

"Yeah we're cool, I can't say the same for Max though" Jean said

"I know… I'll try to make things right for him" Dash said

"I wish you luck with that, out of all six ponies, you're his least favorite."

"What?! Why?!"

"Do you even have to ask? Same reasons you and me quarreled: distrust. Except he's a lot more stubborn than me, so it's going to be a bit of a task for him to like you. Just give him some time to warm up to you guys." Jean explained


End file.
